Not What You Think
by Wolf of Summer
Summary: Harem AU, but not in the way you'd think! Emperor Lelouch has a harem that is really a disguise to take in girls who need someplace stable to live. What brings everyone there, and what kind of adventures do they all have? I'm planning on making this several smaller stories written withing the same universe. (Multiple Pairings)
1. Meet Kallen

**This is an experimental writing piece for me. I hope you like it! Any advice or constructive criticism is welcomed. Enjoy!**

oOo

**Chapter One: Kallen**

Kallen hated that she'd fallen so low since her parents' disgrace in the nobility. They'd lost their status, and her real mother had no say on what they decided to do with Kallen anyway. With her father away so often, her bitchy stepmother decided to try and sell her.

Well, not exactly. There were rumors that the Emperor had a small but beautiful harem, and Kallen knew her step-mom thought she was pretty enough ("If you just don't open that wicked mouth!") to gain the family a decent amount of money.

That's not to say Kallen was okay with it. The last thing she wanted to be sold for was as a sex slave, but when she voiced this opinion, her stepmom simply waved it off.

"Oh, he's the Emperor, girl, he'll treat you fine." Which wasn't exactly what she was worried about anyway.

Which is why, after being primped and poufed and painted within an inch of her life, the first thing she told the Emperor when she was sat across from him to meet him was "I don't want to be part of the harem. My step-mom is doing this to try and gain her title back."

Then the bastard had chuckled and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared at her. "I know. I also know that the main reason I finally made the moves to remove your family's title—indirectly, of course—was because I knew your brother had made enough of his own name to survive, that I would be able to help you and your mother, and that your step-mother and father did not particularly uphold the ideals I'm trying to fix in the nobility."

That had been a surprise.

Then he'd continued. "If you'd like, I could still adopt you into my harem." He held up a hand to hold back her protests. "No, wait, please hear me out."

Reluctantly, Kallen had nodded, settling back and kicking off her uncomfortably high shoes.

"I'm not interested in building a harem for the usual reasons. I understand that after the wars and stepping into my late father's shoes, there is a lot of unrest with the people and unfair advantage in the nobility. I'm doing my best to reform the nobility without directly affecting those that don't deserve it, like yourself, and help build a reputation that will help me fix things after this last war."

"So…what you're saying is I'm basically going to become part of a harem that doesn't exist in order to help you build your reputation? What am I supposed to do, sit around and look pretty all day?"

"If you wish. You strike me as the type that wouldn't want to, though, so I'll let you figure it out when you meet the head of my harem. Most of the girls tend to find a job somewhere within the palace."

A knocking on the door interrupted them. "It seems we've run out of time. If you would like, I can let you to meet some of the girls. Please make your decision within the next week, and I will send someone to pick you up if you wish. Also, it would probably be in your best interest to not tell your mother most of what I've told you here." He smiled at her, before standing.

Kallen still thought he was arrogant. But curiosity got the better of her, and besides, she couldn't really stand to spend more time with her stepmother. "You don't need to wait that long. If I can have your guarantee that my mother will be safe and will continue receiving the care she needs, I'll do what you ask."

She got another smile-smirk for her words. "Pack your bags. I'll have someone pick you up in the morning."

oOo

The next day, a rather tall blonde man met Kallen at the door of her house, where she was sitting just inside with all of her things packed, ready to leave at a moment's notice.

"Hello, I'm Gino Weinberg, knight-in-training, and I'm here to take you off to the place of your dreams!" He exclaimed, saluting when she opened the door.

"Is that the line you use on all the girls?" Kallen asked, pushing one of her bags out of the door ahead of her. "You mind grabbing one of these for me? We can make it to the car in one trip, and to be honest, the sooner I get out of here, the better."

Somewhere behind her, a voice called from another part of the house. "Kallen, is that the representative? Tell them to hold on a moment, I'll be right out!"

Kallen picked up a bag and handed it to the startled man. "Like I said, the sooner, the better."

"You don't want to say good-bye?"

"No."

"Oh. I kinda did the same thing too. Okay, let's roll!"

They were packed up, in the black car, and long gone by the time Kallen's step-mom finally made it to the front door.

oOo

Things were quiet in the car for the first few minutes. Kallen broke the silence. "What did you mean, you 'did the same thing'?"

Gino shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road. "A few months ago, Emperor Lelouch came to me and basically said that my family was likely to lose its noble status because of some deals my father had made during the war. He offered me the chance to become a knight in order to keep me from being sent to the streets as my family lost most of its wealth, and to help me help my mother, since she's just given birth to a little brother of mine and can't really work too much right now without having to take care of him. She works in the court as a scribe, neither of us has to deal with my asshole of a father, and I've gotten a job that could clear my family's name under me, so that I can rebuild for just my mother and I."

Kallen nodded, looking out the window as the scenery gradually became more and more lavish the closer they got to the palace. "I was in a pretty similar situation. My dad was away a lot, and spent most of our money, and my step-mom really treated all of the maids terribly. Now that I think about it, she probably helped my father with whatever deals he was making to get the Emperor to notice him."

Gino sighed. "Yeah. Emperor Lelouch's all about trying to get the nobles to realize they can't just do whatever they want to people below them. He says that if he can fix the nobility, he'll be able to work down from there and help boost the quality of life of everyone who was affected by the war."

"And building a harem has exactly _what_ to do with this?"

"It's mainly just a way to give the girls that are innocent or dislike their families a place to go and build up a life before decide to be left on their own. You should ask Milly; she's the head of the harem and the first girl that Lelouch brought in. She'll be able to explain it better than I will."

Gino pulled to a stop just outside a checkpoint. In front of them, Kallen could see the palace, strong yet elegant against the sky behind its checkpoint walls.

"If you'll excuse me," Gino pulled his phone out with a grin while the guards checked the car and his credentials. "I just need to call Milly and tell her you're almost here."

oOo

"Ooooh, Lelouch, you got a fierce one this time!" A rather curvy blonde rushed up to Kallen as soon as she stepped over the threshold into the foyer of the harem house. "Hello, I'm Milly!"

"Hi, I'm Kallen, though I guess you knew that already. Why do you say I'm fierce?" Kallen asked, returning Milly's energetic handshake.

"Just a look in your eyes. And your fiery hair! Anyways, we should talk about what you want to do here; I certainly doubt you're the type to want to be a maid or gardener."

Kallen shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Though I'd rather do something more physical like gardening than serve someone as a maid all day."

Gino appeared behind Milly. "I've finished putting all of the luggage into Kallen's room, Prez. See you later!"

Milly waved goodbye to him, grabbing Kallen's hand, tugging her up the stairs in the middle of the foyer and down the hall. "This'll be your room; for now I'd just unpack, and we'll be having lunch soon. I'll come get you!"

She sailed out, leaving Kallen to look about her new home. It was small, but lavish. There was a queen-sized bed with a red comforter, a closet, wardrobe, desk, and nightstand. A door led to a bathroom that had both a bath and a small stand-up shower. Back in her room, she pulled the maroon curtain aside to reveal a glass paneled door that led to a small balcony off the back of her room, where the garden for the harem's wing of the palace was located.

By the time Milly came back, Kallen had flopped down on her bed and was studiously blocking her step-mom's number and deleting all of the text messages she's received from her since she left.

"Are you ready for lunch?" Milly asked, knocking lightly on the still-open door.

"Sure, one second." Kallen stood, tucking her phone into her pants. "Hey, Milly, why does Gino call you 'Prez'?"

Milly shrugged, leading Kallen down the hallway after locking the door and handing Kallen the key. "It's just a nickname, really. Short for 'President,' mostly because I prefer being called that over any other titles. I figure, since it's not really a harem why should we follow the rules of one?"

Kallen nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. I'm still trying to get a feel for this whole harem-but-not-a-harem thing, you know?"

Milly laughed. "You'll figure it out. The idea is that it's for girls that don't really have any other place to go, or are homeless because of something the Emperor is doing to try and improve the nobility. It's actually a bit small right now, but there are plans to expand it soon."

"You mean he's planning on making more people homeless? What about girls that like their parents, or agree with their ideals?"

Milly shrugged. "Mostly, I think he's trying to make an example out of the families he can, so that the others will back down and agree to his ideas. We knew you'd be able to handle it because you dislike your stepmother and father, according to your brother."

"What?! When did you speak to Naoto? I've written to him, but I haven't heard back in nearly a year!"

"I think he's working with Emperor Lelouch, but I haven't seen him in a while. If you'd like, next time he stops by, I can ask about Naoto."

Kallen was satisfied with that. "Okay. Does he do that a lot? Stop by, I mean?"

"Yeah, when he can. Says it's a welcome distraction. And here we are!" Milly said grandly, opening a door to a rather large dining room in comparison to the few people that were sitting in it. Leading Kallen over to where everyone was sitting, she pushed Kallen down by her shoulders into a chair and said "This is Kallen Stadtfeld, everyone, she just arrived a few hours ago. Introduce yourselves and be nice!"

The blue-haired man to her right went first. "I'm Rivalz Cardemonde, and I'm the head gardener for the gardens around the harem and the courtyard between here and the main palace."

The bouncy long-haired girl next to him went next. "I'm Kaguya Sumeragi, and I've been here almost as long as Milly! I don't really do much around here except keep Princess Nunnally company and bother my brother." Kallen could almost see the sparkles coming off of her as she grinned. Kaguya was definitely an energetic girl.

The few other girls introduced themselves, and while they were, Gino wandered in through the doors Kallen had come through, trailed by a small pink-haired girl and someone who was unidentifiable due to the large pile of papers they were clutching. Spotting Kallen, Gino wandered over and plopped down next to her. The girl and her companion sat at another table.

Kallen smiled. "Hi, Gino. Who're your friends?"

Gino spun, his usual grin lighting up his face. "The pink one is Anya Alstreim, she's my partner for knight training, and the girl with the glasses is Nina Einstein. She's one of the apprentices to the scientists that work here, but she gets really shy so she follows Anya around sometimes because Anya's quiet."

"Wait. So you can have female knights?" Kallen asked eagerly.

"Sure! Why, are you interested?" Gino waggled his eyebrows. "The pay's not so great at first but the people are awesome."

"I think I'd rather be able to train with you guys than spend my time cleaning or lying around—no offense mean, Milly." Kallen said to the girl on Gino's other side.

"None taken! Everyone has something they like to do more than other things…like for example, I like being able to tell people what to do!" Milly giggled before continuing. "But if you like I can talk to the emperor next time I see him."

"Yeah, Milly's pretty close to him. She'll be able to help you!" Gino chuckled. "There are a few tests you'll need to pass first, but I can help train you before then if you like!"

"Alright, but what kind of tests?" Kallen asked dubiously.

"There's basics of self-defense, a psych evaluation, a physical, a background check, and the basics of court and knight manners." Gino shrugged. "I can probably teach you most of that. And everyone's given a chance to become a knight-in-training. I think the next tryout's in a few months."

Kallen grinned. "Perfect. When do we start?"


	2. Kallen, Meet Suzaku

**Reminder that this fic has multiple pairings. And that it's mainly a way for me to write a bunch of slightly connected shorter stories. Don't expect too much development in terms of plot :P**

** Implied Kallen/Gino and Suzalulu. Otherwise, enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Two:**

Kallen stepped through the grand doors of the harem house only to be forced back by the sudden blast of noise.

"CONGRATULATIONS!"

Milly came up to her and slung an arm over her shoulders. "Gino told us that you qualified to start training as a knight!"

Kallen glanced nervously around the foyer. Streamers hung from the chandelier, and balloons floated around the crowd of friends that had yelled when she first arrived. Tables stood off to the side, laden with all sorts of party foods. "I…yeah. Is this because of that?"

"Of course! You know I never miss out on a chance to throw a party."

Kallen sighed. In just the few months that she'd been there, she'd noticed that Milly seemed to have almost nothing better to do than just constantly throw parties. To be honest, she was surprised Milly hadn't managed to bankrupt the monarchy yet, considering that was where most of the funding came from.

Kaguya appeared at Kallen's other side, dragging her into the room. "There's so much to do today! My cousin said you'll start training with Sir Jeremiah, though Gino will be able to tell you more about him than I will. And! He also said that Lelouch wants to come visit you again, see how you're doing. He says the Emperor feels bad that he hadn't checked in on you all this time."

Kallen nodded, taking it all in. When she'd arrived, she'd assumed Kaguya's cousin was some low-level worker, or a servant to Nunnally. She'd since learned that Sir Suzaku Kururugi was the personal knight to the Emperor, and one-half of Kaguya's main gossip sources (the other half was a combination of Nunnally and Gino, apparently). She also had yet to meet the man, and Kaguya was a terrible person to trust with impressions about people, especially since she'd said things that meant Suzaku ranged from cheerful to borderline violent.

Huh. He'd be interesting to meet in any case.

oOo

Kallen stared at the man in front of her. Sir Suzaku Kururugi, personal knight to the Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia, stared right back.

It figured that he be about her age. For some reason, Kallen had thought of someone of his caliber as being a lot…older. More experienced, perhaps. At least Kaguya had gotten the physical description down. Mostly.

As she watched, the man grinned and leaned over to Lelouch to whisper something in his ear. Both of them glanced unnervingly up at her, and Lelouch let out a sigh, for all the world looking like the long-suffering wife rather than the man that was seen on television making such powerful speeches.

"Fine, go get it over with." He huffed. "Gino will stay with me."

Kallen glanced at Gino, who winked and gestured towards Suzaku, who was walking meaningfully towards her. When he was close enough, he grinned.

"Wanna go spar?"

She glanced up at him. The way he'd phrased it seemed more like an order than a—oh. It was a test. "…Alright."

As they meandered over to the training grounds, Kallen cast about for something to say. "So…how come we don't see you ever over here?"

Suzaku shrugged. "I actually used to go over there a lot so I could brush up on my skills, but I've been staying closer to Lelouch because he's traveled a lot recently. You'll actually be the first person I'm going to spar with in, oh, three weeks."

"Thanks for the honor." Kallen muttered wryly. "So, uh. Hand-to-hand, or weapons? I'm warning you now, I know all knights are required to know their way around a sword but my swordplay is shit right now. Uh, Sir."

Suzaku chuckled. "Hand-to-hand. And don't call me Sir. I know I'm technically above you in rank but I know for a fact you all call the Emperor by his given name when propriety doesn't demand it."

"Alright. Suzaku, then. I'll do my best to be a decent partner. I at least know more about hand-to-hand; my brother taught me a little when I was younger, so I had more of a head-start on that during training."

Suzaku tossed Kallen a pair of protective gloves and began pulling his own protective gear on. Soon, they were face-to-face, both eyeing each other and standing in a defensive position. Suzaku smirked.

"I'll go easy on you."

"Don't you dare."

oOo

Two hours later, Kallen lay on the ground panting. Above her, clouds had begun to cover the once sunny sky.

A shadow blocked out what little sun was getting through. Suzaku handed her a bottle of water and flopped down to sit next to her.

In between pants, Kallen muttered "We should probably move inside soon." She looked over at Suzaku, who was gulping water down so fast that some of it was running down his neck.

In between swigs, Suzaku replied "Not yet. I like being outside, and I haven't had a chance to spend time out here in a while. It's got good memories."

Kallen hummed noncommittally, enjoying the view as Suzaku put the bottle down and started stretching his shoulders. He paused, turning to catch her staring at him.

"Enjoying the view?"

Kallen glared. "I can't say what I'm thinking because you're technically a higher rank than I am."

"True. But we usually don't care for that around here unless the situation demands it."

"Alright, I was thinking 'fuck you.'"

Suzaku grinned at her. "Sorry, but I'm taken. Though I think Gino might have a thing for you, based on what he's said recently."

Gino was rather obvious in his affections for Kallen, so she knew that already. The first part of that statement, however, piqued her interest. She raised an eyebrow. "Taken?"

"Ugh." Suzaku groaned. "Just ask Milly, she's probably figured it out, the gossip that she is."

"I'm going to take that as an order from my superior and make sure to do so."

Suzaku rolled his eyes, getting up and offering her a hand. "Let's get inside."

As they walked, Kallen searched for a way to fill the silence. A thought struck her.

"Are you guys going to visit again anytime soon?"

"I hope so." Suzaku shrugged. "It's nice to have a break once in a while, and you're a decent sparring partner. Who knows, with enough practice you might be better than me one day!"

"No, I _will_ be better than you one day." Kallen answered sharply.

"I guess we'll find out." Suzaku smirked, then barked out a laugh. Kallen glared at his suspiciously.

"What?"

"I just realized I left Lelouch more or less alone with Milly for a few hours."

Kallen gave him a questioning look, so Suzaku elaborated. "He's her favorite target."

oOo

After bidding Suzaku good-bye and watching him rescue Lelouch from Milly's clutches (and carefully helping him undo the bows in his hair), Kallen dragged Milly into a room to ask her a few questions about Suzaku, and by extension, Lelouch. It couldn't hurt to know a little more about her 'employer' and her 'superior,' after all, especially since they'd largely turned out to be little more than well-meaning friends to her.

Milly happily answered most of Kallen's questions, with the proviso that she shouldn't share anything she learned. Lelouch and Suzaku were rather private people, after all, though they were quite friendly to those they saw as friends.

"And when I say Lelouch and Suzaku, I mean that they're practically a unit. I've known Lelouch since I was twelve, and he's know Suzaku even longer than that." Milly smiled softly, her eyes a bit unfocused as she thought. "They've really the closest people I've even met."

"But Suzaku said he was taken? If he spends all of his time with Lelouch then…oh."

Milly chuckled. "Yeah. Even I don't know when they officially got together. I just caught them kissing in the library one afternoon a few years ago. They didn't really change all that much outwardly, to be honest. I kind of expected it sooner or later."

"Is that really safe, though? To have Suzaku guarding Lelouch if they're that close?" Kallen shrugged, looking down. "I just feel like that would be dangerous if they're ever in a situation where Lelouch is in danger."

"Well," Milly winked. "The royal family does have a history of knights being the lovers or spouses of their royal. Lelouch's mother was even a knight before she married his father!"

Kallen was quiet for a moment. "I really wish I could get to know them better."

"Why's that?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I just feel grateful and perhaps a bit indebted to Lelouch, and I don't like being indebted to anyone, but I'm working on that by trying to become a knight. And Suzaku…well, I'm not sure. He's just got that feeling that he'd make an equally good rival or friend." She stopped for a second, remembering something. "And both those bastards still owe me an explanation about why and how Naoto's working for Lelouch!"


End file.
